Oh father of mine
by renzic
Summary: Grissom gets a visitor & problems occur ,first fanfic
1. A visitor

**Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own any of these guys if I did I wouldn't be writing**

**A/N: So this is my first fanfic so please be gentle, As I go I hope the chapters get better I don't have a beta so I apologize for any major mistakes also this is set in the earlier seasons before Grissom gets a beard, I've re-formated to make it a little easier to read thanks to a constructive review.Enjoy**

The constant knocking encroached on Grissom's sleep deprived mind. Slowly he realized that it in fact wasn't in his dream but somebody actually knocking on his door. Rolling over with a groan he checked the bedside clock as he motioned to get up, he'd only caught an hour's sleep after pulling a double, this better be good he thought as he headed towards his front door. If anything the knocking was getting louder

"Alright I'm coming" he answered with anger seeping into his voice.

Wrenching the door open he saw the last person on earth he ever thought would be standing there, all he could do was gape.

"Well aren't you going to invite me in?, I've been knocking on your door for almost 5 minutes I think the neighbors are starting to get cranky".

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't shut this door in your face and forget you were ever here?"

"Because you wouldn't want to make a scene now would you son?" He replied as he forced his way past Grissom into the hallway. Grissom spun round slamming the door behind him

"You don't have any right to call me that, you've never been a father to me and something tells me you're too old to start now, now I'd like you to leave"

"Nice place you've got here Gil, must be doing pretty well for yourself" his father replied walking into the living room where he picked up a frame off the shelf and examined it.

"Don't pretend you didn't hear what I just said, I imagine this isn't a social visit and that you're wanting something from me, but to tell you the truth I don't care, I'd just like you to leave".

"Now Gil don't be like that, we have so much to catch up on, but if you must insist you're right this isn't a social visit, I'd like you to hear me out, please it'll only take a couple of minutes then I'll leave if you'd like". Grissom motioned to him to carry on.

" Well you see I've gotten myself into a spot of trouble, money trouble in fact, if it was my money I wouldn't worry you about it, but a couple of weeks back I lost 10 grand of my bosses money, I had it all sorted out I came to Vegas used my own 5 grand to try and double it on the tables so that I could pay back the money, but I hit a snag, I lost it all" at this point Grissom's father looked up at Grissom with remorse in his eyes "I wouldn't have come to you but now my boss is looking for me and I know he wants the 10 thousand plus interest"

Grissom shook his head in disgust " I don't know what you think I can do for you, I don't even want to know who you were working for, I washed my hands of you a longtime ago when you refused to acknowledge I existed, when you left mom when you went too far" Grissom choked out as he remembered the pain his father had inflicted on his mother. His father took a step towards him raising his hand to lift Grissom's face to his, Grissom flinched away from his hand then lifted his head so his eyes were burning into his.

"I'd like you to leave, you'll have to find the money some other way" Grissom said almost in a whisper.

"You don't understand they're going to kill me. Don't you get it, no you wouldn't you're just like your mother always looking for the logical explanation never get involved in somebody else's problems, look at you you're pathetic I can't believe I thought you'd help, I was right to leave you all those years ago."

With the last comment Grissom grabbed his father and shoved him towards the front door "Get out" he forced out gruffly before he was spear tackled in the ribs by his father forcing him back in the hallway and onto the floor. Next thing he knew there was a fist in his face heading for his left eye which he managed to dodge unfortunately there was another one following which connected with his right. Slightly dazed he managed to roll over and kick his father in the ribs causing him to get off him. Grabbing him by the collar he roughly shoved him towards the door. Opening the front door he was surprised as his father regained his stance and rammed him up against the door frame causing a crack from the wood and a shot of pain down his back.

"You'll have to watch yourself now too Gil, because if they're looking for me they going to try and come through you, you just think about that" and with that he let Grissom go and stepped out into the cool air of Las Vegas. Grissom let out the breath he was holding and touched his right eye tenderly which was accompanied by a hiss of pain. But he felt more pain in the fact that his father still had this power over him after all those years, he'd never changed and for the first time in years Grissom shut the door and the tears fell.


	2. He's what?

**Disclaimer: Same as before**

**A/N So this is the second chapter slightly longer than the last, hope a couple more people might read and review for me.**

He hadn't been able to sleep so he tried to do some cross-words to keep his mind off what had happened, nothing however seemed to be working. Soon it was time to get ready for work, how the hell was he going to explain his black eye let alone why he looked like death warmed up. Oh well maybe if he didn't mention it everyone would be too afraid to ask and he could just lock himself away in his office for the night.

As he approached the break room he had a funny suspicion that this was not going to work and that everyone would look at him. Why hadn't he taken the night off at least until the swelling went down, oh that's right he needed to keep his mind busy and the best way to do that was to come to work. Stepping through door everyone lifted there eyes to his, the range of emotions was clear on their faces as he went to sit down. Catherine looked surprised and almost amused, probably assuming that he had received it in some stupid way, Warrick and Nick both looked confused and Sara well Sara looked concerned.

"Right, Warrick & Nick B&E take Greg with, it's a big house so you'll need the extra set of hands, Sara keep going with that missing persons from last night and get Catherine to help you when she's finished with her paperwork, I'll be in my office."

With that he got up and left leaving them to talk among themselves. Hopefully that worked he thought to himself as he walked back to his office.

"Did anyone else not think that weird?" Warrick asked as the remaining CSI's sat around the table.

"What the black eye or the fact that Grissom was trying to avoid us all?" Catherine commented as she started to get up from the chair

"I'm sure he got it by bumping into something and he was just too embarrassed to tell us how, it's not like he gets himself into bar room brawls or anything, now I don't know about you but I think we all have work to do."

Everybody left the breakroom except Sara who just sat there chewing her lip she knew something was up and by the end of the shit she was going to find out what.

Grissom shifted once more in his chair, he just couldn't get comfortable his back was sore from earlier on in the day and his ribs ached slightly from being spear tackled. He sighed and rubbed his good eye he just couldn't concentrate. There was a knock on the door accompanied by a brunette sticking her head around it

"Can I come in?, I just wanted to hand you my report from the missing persons".

"Finished already? I thought you said this case could take awhile as there weren't many leads"

"Well turns out the girl was staying with a friend, was trying to get back at the parents for grounding her, hey Grissom are you ok? You look a little tired" Sara questioned.

"Yeah just didn't get much sleep last night". He replied as he motioned for her to give him the file in her hand

"Oh yeah sorry" as she handed him the file "You don't have to answer this but how did you get the black eye, people are taking bets, Greg reckons you got into a fight with Ecklie"

"If I tell you Sara it is to stay strictly between you and me, not even to Catherine" Sara nodded in agreement.

"Well I got it because" just then Grissom's beeper went off he looked down cursing what it said. "419 brass" Sara went to leave , but Grissom motioned for her to stay "I'm going to need you on this one" A look of surprise crossed her face "As I can only see out of one eye and CSI's need all 5 senses" A slight look of disappointment twisted her features then passed. "Just hold on while I call Brass".

After getting the location from brass Sara and Grissom headed towards the Tahoe's. "You're driving" Grissom mentioned as he threw the keys over the bonnet of the SUV to Sara, as Sara went to catch them she saw a flinch of pain from Grissom as he went to open the door. "Are you sure you're ok?" She questioned as she opened her own door. "Yeah just getting old" he winked at her as he got into the Tahoe.

"You know it's going to be hard to see evidence until light break out here Griss". Sara commented as she retrieved her kit out of the Tahoe.

"That's the problem with visiting the desert at night Sara it's dark" Grissom joked "But looks like they've set up some portable lights for us so we shouldn't miss anything, I'm going to talk to Brass why don't you start processing the body" with that he grabbed his kit and started to walk towards Brass. Sara watched as he walked away he seemed to be walking slower than usual like he was favoring one side of his body over the other, very odd but then that's Griss she thought as she headed in the direction of the body.

" 70 year old male, no id as of yet found about an hour ago by that kid over there apparently he comes out here to look at the stars, seems harmless enough says he hasn't moved or touched the body before you ask."

"Thanks Jim, anybody else been near the body?"

"Not as far as I know, first officer on the scene kept away, something about knowing that the guy was dead from a distance, possible clue was the fact is not much is left of his face" Brass replied as his cell phone started to ring "Excuse me" Brass apologized as he went to answer

"I'll be with the body, get the boy to sit tight Catherine can process him when she arrives".

"So what have you found?" Grissom asked as he settled down beside David and Sara

" Elderly male, stab wound to the chest, face is pretty messed up going to make it hard to ID looks possibly like acid, but we'll know more when we get him back to the morgue" David mentioned while getting out his black bag for the body

"Looks like he might have been in a fight before he died has banged up left knuckles also an interesting scar on his right hand pretty old looks like teeth marks" Sara added as she lifted some fibers off the body. Grissom got up with an abruptness that caused both David and Sara to look up.

"I can't, I don't believe it," Grissom stuttered "Sara keep to the evidence and stop the speculation just continue to process the body". With that Grissom turned and walked quickly as possible back to his Tahoe.

"What was that about?" David enquired "I don't know but I intend to find out, just stay with the body for a second David I'll be back in a minute" Sara quickly got up and followed Grissom's footsteps, if he thought she was going to process this whole scene by herself he was sorely mistaken, black eye no black eye there was no excuse to just walk off like that. As she reached the Tahoe her anger grew as she saw Grissom just standing there with his hands on the tailgate of the Tahoe knuckles as white as anything.

"Grissom what was that about and where do you get the right to talk to me like that, if you think I'm going to process this whole scene by myself you're sorely mistaken"

"Are you even listening to me?" Sara questioned

"I can't help you Sara" Grissom replied still with his back turned

"What because of your eye? You could at least do photo's." Sara let out a sigh "I can't because" Grissom took a deep breath "I'm related to the victim"

"What?" Sara exclaimed almost dropping her torch that she had in her hand "The vic was related to you, how?" Grissom turned at this she could see the confusion and anger in his one good eye

"How do you think Sara, he was my father which is why I shouldn't even be here I'm compromising the scene by even being here, I need to go can I have the keys?" Grissom blurted out

"Grissom you can't drive, not in this state or with that eye, just sit tight in the Tahoe I'll go see if Jim can give you a ride back in his car, I'm so sorry about your dad Griss" Sara motioned to touch his arm but he moved out of her reach and walked around to the passengers door and sat down and stared at the dashboard as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Brass, we have a problem"

"Sara, I'm sort of busy here if you have a problem can't you talk to Grissom".

"Unfortunately my problem is Grissom" Sara let out with a sigh. Brass looked up from the report he was scanning

"What?"

"The victim it's Grissom's father, we need to get him out of here, he's not going to be any good to us and in fact he's right when he say's he's technically compromising the scene, is it possible you could drive him back to the lab and keep an eye on him I have a funny suspicion we might have to talk to him after we've processed the scene".

"You think he's a suspect? Come on Sara we're talking about the most unemotional man on the earth here plus he wouldn't ever commit something like this, he's too smart, but I'll keep an eye on him just the same, let him know I'll give him a ride when he's ready".

Sara nodded and headed back to the Tahoe.

"Griss, Jim's ready when you are to go" Grissom swung his legs out of the Tahoe and started to walk towards the squad car, Sara wasn't even sure he was sure where he was until she heard a small "Thankyou" as he walked past and on towards Brass.

"Hey, what's happening, I just saw Grissom and Brass heading the other way". Catherine asked as she stepped up beside Sara who was processing the area under the body now that David had taken it away. Sara rubbed her eyes with the back of her arm.

"Well apart from the fact that the victim was Grissom's father and we have the whole desert to process not much, want to do a spiral search to the edges of the lights?"

"Whoa Sara slow down, the victim was Grissom's father? I thought Grissom hadn't seen him in years, how did he know it was him?" Catherine asked in a puzzled tone

"That's what I wondered but it's not important right now what is is the evidence I'm almost finished here then we just have the search to do but I don't hold out much hope in finding anything as this wasn't the primary site the body was just dumped here"

"Alright lets get to work the quicker we get this done the quicker we can figure out what's happened, you know we're going to have to interview Grissom and unfortunately Ecklie is probably going to have get into this."

_What the hell was he going to do he looked guilty the neighbors probably heard them fighting, his fathers DNA was all over his door and hallway not to mention his eye and his DNA on his fathers knuckles, it didn't even take a scientist to figure out what had gone down it was obvious they had fought and for some people it wasn't much of a jump to murder._

His train of thought was broken as they pulled up to the lab. "Gil, we're here"

"Thanks Jim" with that Grissom opened the door and headed towards the lab.

"Damn" Brass cursed as he turned off the ignition and raced after Grissom, finally catching up with him as he was shutting his office door.

"You can't just shut yourself off in here Gil it's not healthy"

"You know as well as I do Jim that I'm now a suspect in this case as I'm his only living relative in Vegas plus I saw him last night, you're going to want to talk to me ohhhh I'd say in about 2 hours after Doc Robbins pre-lim I just want to collect my thoughts and make it easier for you to find me is all, now would you kindly leave, I have some paperwork to do" Grissom replied in a curt tone

"Just don't do anything stupid, I'll be around if you need me, I've got something I need to discuss with Warrick anyway" and with that brass left grissom in peace.

"Single, stab wound to the chest was the cause of death but look at this bruising near the stomach looks like a foot, by the coloration I'd say it was administered before death, probably received at the same time as the grazes on his knuckles. Not sure about the acid though we'll know more when the analysis comes back but I'd say HCl inflicted post-mortem."

"What about the scar on his right hand I was curious about what it was from" Sara enquired

'It's definitely from human teeth if I'd take a guess probably a child but it's at least 40 years old, not recent, see how the scar tissue is white and faded."

"Thanks Doc" Sara turned to leave

"Oh Sara"

"Yes?"

"Is it true what they're saying, that this is Grissom's father"

"Unfortunately it looks that way" and with that Sara disappeared out the morgue doors.

"We need to question Grissom now Catherine, there is no way of getting around it" Sara commented as they cataloged what little evidence they had.

"I agree lets get Brass to bring him to an interview room and get it over with, once we have that out of the way we can continue looking for the actual killer"


	3. interigation

Disclaimer: Yeah so I don't any of them except for maybe Grissom's father but he's dead and related to Grissom (what's the rule on that) so I don't know

**A/N Sorry it took a little while to put this chapter up, my other story that I've been posting sort has been my main focus over the last week plus I wasn't and am still not 100 happy with this chapter but thought I'd post it let me know what you think. The italicized parts are Grissom's thoughts.**

Grissom looked down at his hands as he shifted in his seat, his back was still giving him problems but he wasn't about to tell his friends sitting across the table that. No one had said anything yet, Jim had brought him to the station, got him a cup of coffee and placed him in interview room 1. Now they were just sitting there Jim, Sara and Catherine on one side and Grissom on the other. Catherine cleared her throat to speak. Grissom braced himself for the questions that were inevitably to come.

"So, when was the last time you saw your father Gil?" Catherine asked her voice straining as she thought of what she wanted to ask.

"At 3.13pm yesterday afternoon" Grissom answered in the most unemotional monotone voice. Catherine waited for him to elaborate but he just stopped

"Would you like to elaborate, can you tell us what happened from the time you saw him till the time he left your presence" Sara piped in

"He knocked on my door at 3.13pm I opened it, I refused him entry, he came in anyway walked into my living room picked up the right picture off the middle shelf of my left wall placed it back on my shelf. I requested him to leave he said he needed to talk to me I allowed him to carry on, he asked for money I refused I again requested him to leave, he insulted me I showed him the door he left." Grissom crossed his arms as he finished his account of what happened.

_I don't know why I didn't tell them about the fight maybe because I know they're going to ask, I just don't want them to look at me with pity in their eyes, maybe they'll just let it go._

"What time did he leave?" Catherine asked

"3.27pm"

"Did he say what he needed the money for?"

"Said he lost 10 thousand of his employer's money then lost 5 of his own he wanted me to lend it to him"

"and you refused why?"

"He showed up on my doorstep and asks for money after 40 years of no contact, I think it was within my rights to say no"

"If it's been 40 years how did you know it was him" Catherine questioned

"The scar on his right hand"

_Good maybe they wouldn't ask him about the black eye, but he didn't really like this line of questioning either as he was going to have to explain the scar soon which also didn't shine favorably on him either in light of the current situation._ At the thought of this he shifted again in his chair, a wince passed his face as he felt the bruising on his back shift. _Maybe they didn't see that, I hope they didn't see that_.

"Griss, how did you get your black eye?" Sara enquired

_Damn_

"My face was the unfortunate recipient of a fist" he answered with a smirk

"That didn't really answer Sara's question, could you explain what happened after he asked you for the money? Did you get into a fight?" Catherine probed

"Yes, we got into a fight, he pushed me onto my back where upon he punched my right eye, I kicked him once in the ribs he got off me I pushed him towards the door he grabbed me and rammed me against the door frame, happy now" Grissom had mumbled most of the account in hopes they would just dismiss it.

"Could you take off your shirt?" Sara asked almost sheepishly, in fact in any other situation she would have loved making that request but somehow this wasn't how she imagined it. Grissom looked up at this request the first time in the whole interview and looked straight into Sara's eyes almost challenging her to back down.

"You're obviously in a bit of pain we just need to make sure your injuries are consistent with your account and that you don't need medical treatment" Catherine butted in to try an ease the tension caused by Sara's request.

"As you wish, I imagine you found bruising on his body in the shape of a foot, would you like me to take off my shoe as well for size comparison" Grissom chided as he went to get up from his chair

"If you wouldn't mind, Sara would you get the camera with filter so we can see any deeper bruising" Catherine requested as she too stood and went to move around the table.

Grissom started to unbutton his shirt until it hung loose off his shoulders he slowly took his left arm out then his right as not to jar his back anymore than he had to he also removed his right shoe. He looked down at his chest where a nice purple bruise had formed under his right bottom rib. Sara stepped up to his chest and placed the camera in her line of sight

"There some slight bruising under both ribs Cath" Sara got a weird look in her eye "You say he pushed you onto your back what did he do it with, can't have been his hands?" Sara looked up at Grissom with this question expecting an answer.

"His head" was all that escaped Grissom's lips

A small frown creased Sara's brow at this comment, she carried on looking over his body, a small gasp escaped her lips as she reached his back, Catherine immediately went to join her behind Grissom.

"He must of rammed you pretty hard Gil, you have one hell of a bruise on your back" Catherine remarked as she came back around to his line of view

"Are we done" Grissom asked as he motioned to get his shirt

"Yes, but not with the questions" was the answer as Catherine sat back down in her chair

Sara gave her a look from behind Grissom's back as if to say, let him go, we've got enough for now.

Brass cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him, everybody had forgotten he was even there. This simple act however broke Catherine's train of thought and when she looked back all she saw before her was a friend, an exhausted looking innocent friend not a suspect.

"I'm sorry Gil you can go, if we have anymore questions we'll let you know, we're going to look into your fathers employer see where that will.." Catherine started to tell Grissom but was stopped mid sentence

"Catherine I don't need to know, the less I know the better it is for your investigation" and with that Grissom exited the room with Brass soon to follow

"Why do I feel so horrible?" Sara asked as she put the camera away "What his father did to him that bruise on his back, I thought something was up but never suspected that of all things, then we drag him in here asking him to tell us everything"

"Sara, if we hadn't asked somebody else would have it's better it was coming from us" and with that Catherine and Sara left in hopes to find some answers.


	4. home

Disclaimer: Please see previous chapters

**A/N: Here is the next installment, just stick with me on this the next two chapters are sort of slow, but I need them so that we get a little more background( hopefully you'll see it comes in handy) also I'd feel like I was jumping too much if I went straight into what I'm going to write for chapter 6 so please just trust me on this, confused? Good. Oh thanks for reading and the reviews make me happy.**

Grissom dropped his keys on the hallway table as he shuffled towards his bedroom. His migraine had only gotten worse on the trip home. He needed some pills but he had refilled the prescription on the way to work this morning and then promptly left them on his desk when heading to the police station, which is where Brass had brought him home from. He'd effectively put himself on leave anyway so going to bed was defiantly the best option for him he just prayed that everybody would just leave him alone. That Catherine and Sara would find the killer and it would all be over. Oh no he groaned he had to tell his mother, he couldn't do it just now but after he had a sleep that would be the first thing he'd have to do.

"So basically we have nothing" Sara let out with a sigh "After he left Grissom's place it's like he disappeared off the face of the earth, in fact there really isn't much before either, from the records we can see he got divorced about 40 years ago, but apart from that there's no real record of him".

"Like father, like son" Catherine replied as she searched through the cataloged evidence "If we could only find out his employer we'd have something to go on, at the moment it's not looking good for Grissom". Catherine speculated.

"Well I guess the next option is we head around to Grissom's place and see if the killer left any clues outside, plus we should really check Grissom's house I mean he is a viable suspect in this case". Catherine thought aloud.

"How can you say that Cath, the man's just lost his father you've known him longer than any of us there is no way he could of done this and you know it" Sara replied angrily

"Look, Sara you're going to have trouble on this case, if you don't keep your emotions under check it's going to put Grissom in jail through questionable evidence, just thank your lucky stars we're even on this case due to Ecklie being at a conference, I'm trying to disprove Grissom rather than prove someone else did it at least that way he won't get arrested". Catherine said angrily as she got up from the table "Now shall we go to Grissom's?" She questioned over her shoulder as she left out the door.

As they pulled up to his house Sara felt her heart in her throat the man inside was not only in physical but emotional pain. He may not of seen his father for years but it didn't stop someone caring did it?. Retrieving their kits from the Tahoe Catherine broke the silence.

"So we'll talk to Grissom first let him know we're here then we can split one of us take the house the other the perimeter."

Sara nodded in agreement as they made their way up the path to his house. Catherine knocked on his door then tried the handle, it was unlocked. They looked at each other surprised and nodded in agreement that they would proceed with caution.

"Grissom?" Sara called out as they stepped into the hallway.

"Sara look at this the door frame's cracked, must have been where he got shoved up against it , probably explains why it's not locked". Catherine commented as she went to get a closer look.

Sara proceeded down the hallway looking for Grissom she reached his bedroom door and knocked gently.

"Grissom" She called as she opened the door slightly to see if he was asleep, his bed was strewn as if he'd gotten up in a hurry. She was about to turn and leave when she heard a groan coming from his bathroom.

Concerned she walked over and knocked lightly on the door. "Grissom" she called again

"Leave me alone" he answered almost in a whisper but this was then accompanied by a cough then some dry heaving.

"Grissom if your sick then at least let me get you something". Sara requested with worry etched in her voice

"Migraine" was the single word answered back through the door

"Have you taken your medicine, look this is stupid let me in" Sara requested

"Unlocked" was the retort then silence

Sara opened the door carefully as not to jar his migraine even more, but taking a look at him that didn't seem really possible he was pale and covered in sweat, his whole body shaking from pure exertion . She crouched down beside him she was about to put her hand on his back but then realized she'd be putting him in more pain so settled on his shoulder.

"Did you take anything for it?" Sara asked mirroring the question she'd asked earlier.

His response was to look at her through squinted eyes as to say 'what do you think?'

Then he answered with "Medicine , office" before he proceeded to dry heave again. His ribs must be killing him thought Sara.

"Sara can I talk to you" Catherine asked as she appeared at the bathroom door. She quickly glanced at Grissom then back at Sara.

"Yeah, um, I'll be back in a sec" Sara commented to Grissom as she got up to follow Catherine out the door she took one glance back as Grissom groaned once more putting his head to rest on the seat.


	5. Friend or foe

**Disclaimer: Yep, still don't own them**

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, the words in italics are a dream, hope you like it and I promise to try and put the next chapter up soon. Please keep reviewing it's making me very happy to hear what you have to say**

"What seem's odd about this knife block to you?." Catherine enquired as they looked around the kitchen.

"It doesn't have any knives?" Sara answered "You're not suggesting he got rid of them because he used one murdering his father?"

"I'm not suggesting anything but we need to take it into account, it's obvious that there are a few things here that are starting to concern me and one of them is you comforting Grissom , when this case goes to court that's the sort of thing that will put doubt in the juror's mind" Catherine scolded

"I don't believe this I really don't, I'd rather be helping Grissom as a friend than betraying him suspecting him of murder" Sara almost yelled with venom in her voice "You haven't even asked if he's alright, what sort of friend are you?"

"One who cares whether or not he goes to jail, if you want to stay on this case you have to treat him as a suspect and as you're clearly not doing that I'm not sure I want you on the case, I'll give you one more chance but after that I'm pulling you, now I think we have a scene to process I'm going to start on the perimeter." With that Catherine roughly brushed past Sara and headed out the door.

Sara was stunned into silence, who was she to go around accusing her of jeopardizing the case, she was more determined than ever to catch the killer. She let out a large sigh as proceeded back to Grissom's bedroom. As she entered the room she saw that Grissom had managed to crawl back into bed and was now in a fetal position.

"Hey" she said gently as she lightly crouched beside the bed.

Grissom opened his good eye to show he was listening.

"Catherine and I are here to just have a look around, we can go if you'd like" Sara offered as she watched him shift in his blankets

"No, process" Grissom croaked out through the pain

She couldn't believe it there he was seriously in pain and all he could think about was them working the scene, which in this case happened to be his house.

"Ok, but after we've finished I'm going to back to the lab and get your migraine pills and drop them off on my way home, no arguments" Sara demanded as she got up from beside the bed, she looked down at him to see if he was about to argue but realized he'd already gone off to sleep with exhaustion.

"Goodnight Grissom" she almost whispered as she shut the door behind her. Now it was time to process the scene if it was in fact one.

Sara had just finished printing the picture frame when Catherine appeared in the living room.

"Just got a call from Brass, apparently tox screen and trace are back plus we're wanted back at the lab to relay the case to Carvello, did you find anything?" Catherine queried as she placed her kit on the floor.

"No just a couple of prints, apart from the splintered door and the missing knives there's nothing here to link to his father's death" Sara replied as she packed her printing brush into her case "I'm just going to check on Grissom then we'll get out of here".

Sara opened the bedroom door gently as not to disturb Grissom as she poked her head in, he looked restless but then who wouldn't be in his state.

"I'll be back soon" she commented to her sleeping audience as she quietly shut the door.

"_Gil it's time for dinner" a woman called from the kitchen_

_A little curly haired boy no more than seven came running into the kitchen and sat himself at the table "When is daddy coming home, is he going to be here for my birthday next week?" the little boy signed to his mother opposite_

_A saddened expression crossed his mothers face, "You know he's gone Gil, we've been through this before" his mother signed back_

"_He's not going to ever come back, It's because of me isn't it?" He said aloud towards his plate of food _

_She had seen her son go from a happy outgoing little boy two years ago to this a reclusive shy little man, she didn't know what to do. So she did what any mother would and reached across the table and lifted his head to look into her eyes "No, don't you ever think that no matter what he says it has nothing to do with you"._

Grissom woke from his slumber with one thought on his mind he had to talk to his mother.


	6. Mom

**A/N Sorry about the delay in posting as always life got in the way, plus there was so much I wanted to say in this chapter and wanted to get it right. Anyway happy reading and hopefully you guys will keep following the story**.

They could tell as they walked down the hallway that the rumors had spread, Grissom was now officially the talk of the lab and this did not bode well for his reputation let alone the labs.

"I'll meet you in trace" Sara requested as she parted ways with Catherine. Opening Grissom's office she spied her intended target straight away, marching quickly over to the desk she grabbed the prescription bag of the mound of work it was perched on and placed it in her jacket pocket. Now it was time to join Catherine and hopefully get some answers.

As Sara walked into the trace lab, the look on Catherine's face said it all and by the looks of it, it wasn't good news.

"The acid on the face was run of the mill hydrochloric acid although it was a strong mixture most likely industrial, I picked up the tox screen on the way through to trace, seems like he had a drug in his system possibly a sedative, It really doesn't give us too much to go on" Catherine finished before her pager started to go off, looking down at it she cursed.

"We have to relate this case to Carvallo, he's waiting for us in his office". Catherine mentioned as she started to head towards the door

"What are we going to tell, him?" Sara asked as she walked in step with Catherine

"The truth, we're not sure who did it we'll just give him the evidence and that the case is still ongoing" Catherine replied as they reached the office door "Ready"

* * *

Grissom got up slowly out of bed, at least all he had now was a slight headache even though he was still physically drained from his little episode earlier, he had to get up to talk to his mother.

Long ago he got rid of is TTY phone and had everything hooked up to the computer so he sat down and started to dial. It took a few rings before it was answered with "Hello Gil" appearing on his computer screen.

"Hi mom, can you put on the camera I have something I need to tell you" Grissom typed on the keyboard.

"Sure honey, just give me a second"

His mothers face suddenly appeared on the screen, accompanied by a look of shock. Quickly she typed "What happened to you, are you ok?"

Damn, he'd forgotten about his black eye, well he couldn't just type this sort of news over the internet, he needed to do it at least with eye contact.

"Mom, there's no easy way to say this, Dad is dead, he came and saw me yesterday, he turned up dead a couple of hours later" He knew what he had just typed was harsh but there was no easy way to put it.

His mother started to cry, he hated even after all these years he could have this effect on her even from his grave.

"Don't cry, he doesn't deserve your tears" He requested

She stopped an sniffled typing back "I'm not crying for him, I'm crying for you, he was never a good father to you and I thought he might change, I gave him your address he came to see me a couple of weeks ago and asked for it, he said he was going to Vegas with a friend and while he was there wanted to make things right with you, I can see it's only made things worse, I'm guessing he's the one that gave you that black eye and now you're probably suspected of his murder, as you'd never ring me at this time of the day normally"

Always perceptive Grissom thought as he signed to her

"I'm sorry, mother , I love you so much, I just hoped he wouldn't hurt you even from the grave, you're right they suspect I killed him" Grissom sighed after this comment

"Oh, honey don't look so upset, you've always told me that you have a good team and that the evidence keeps innocent people out of jail, everything will be ok" she looked at son with such adoring eyes she still saw before her a little frightened boy never wanting to play with other kids his age just happy with his books.

"If it helps I have a phone number he gave me, just let me go look for it he said if I ever needed to get in touch with him to just call it" with that she got up from the computer and disappeared of screen, she returned a couple of minutes later and started to type.

"Here it is 555- 6789624, I don't know if it'll help any" She typed as she watched her son reach for a pad to write down the number.

After writing down the number Grissom placed his hands back on the keyboard.

"Mom, what was the real reason why dad left you never really told me?" Grissom inquired

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask those words again, The last time you asked me I believe you were ten" Grissom's mother thought back to a time so much simpler

"I believe your answer was, 'he left it doesn't matter why, just that he did', I gave up after that I thought maybe when you were ready you'd tell me and then after a while it didn't matter anymore" Grissom commented

"Your father and I were married very young, much younger than people in this day and age. He was handsome his wavy hair and such a charmer" his mother giggled as she remembered back all those years

" We talked about the future, where we'd live, if we wanted kids and that sort of thing, we wanted to travel the world so your father got a job as an apprentice at a shipping company, you see when we were young the only real way to travel was by ship, planes were expensive, so your father worked his way up the company so that we could go away together, he'd been working there for about a year and a half when I fell pregnant. We had decided we wouldn't have kids and if we did well it wouldn't be until we we're much older. He wanted me to get rid of you and when I refused he said fine but he still wanted to travel with or without me." She stopped typing then started again as if she'd just thought of something

"That was our first fight, seems silly now, anyway we made up he said his dream could wait and when you were born he was happy a little boy to carry on the name he could do all the things he didn't do with his father. The first few years went by fast and when you were four he was promoted, we could now afford and had the opportunity to travel like we had already dreamed of, unfortunately I found out I was going deaf the same year which stopped all his plans in a way. Funny thing is he didn't realize it was going until one day he came home to find you crying, you'd fallen over and scrapped your knee, wailing like a banshee you were in the back yard, I couldn't hear you and he realized." His mother stopped to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye

" Things started to go down hill, he'd never really had to do anything for you before Gil I was always there and when I suddenly wasn't able to do as much as he thought I should, he started to take it out on you making you do everything for yourself, pushing you harder than he should have at your age, punishing you for his problems, I don't know if you realized at the time the company was starting to go under, now not only was his wife going deaf but he was going to loose his job. The day we went to the doctor's and found out that it was ostreoscolosis was the day he treated us both differently me for being the less than perfect wife and you for not being a carbon copy of his himself, you see the doctor explained that you might of inherited my problem, plus the fact you were always more interested in playing with your bugs and science kit than football. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore well you know the rest he left and went to do the traveling he always wanted leaving us behind"

Grissom just sat there digesting everything his mother just relayed to him. He was about to type back but his mother stopped him. As she started to type again.

"It's not good to keep everything inside Gil, otherwise it'll just come out in one big explosion, just think about that over the next few days."

"I think I need to go now mom, I'll phone you tomorrow ok?" Gil replied then he signed 'I love you I promise to think about what you said'

'Love you too honey, talk to you soon' his mom signed back before turning off her camera.

Grissom needed to get out of here, he suddenly felt very closed in by his surroundings, talking with his mother had brought up some very dark feelings.

Grissom sighed and grabbed his jacket and keys to his car before exiting out the door.


	7. Reflections

**A/N There is some violence in this chapter but it's not really that graphic so if you don't like violence then please leave this chapter out of your reading as I wouldn't want to offend you. For the rest of you this is completely fictional account of what could of happened.**

"So you're saying we have nothing?" Carvallo placed a hand to his forehead in frustration

"Well, all the evidence is circumstantial, it doesn't really give us many leads." Catherine replied feeling that he was about to case away from she added " But as of yet we haven't got any contact details off Grissom so once we will get a better picture of our victim".

"I can see this case could get out of hand, if the press get hold of the fact that Grissom is someway involved in his fathers death they'll have a field day and the reputation of the lab will be put in jeopardy, which is why I've decided I want Ecklie to come in on the case"

Sara and Catherine looked at each other in concern.

"Don't worry he'll work in conjunction with you but, he will deal with any press involved, I think we're done here" and with that he motioned for them to leave

Out of earshot Catherine aired her concerns on Ecklie's involvement. "This is going to turn into a witch hunt, you know if he can get rid of Grissom he'll be happy, we need to talk to Grissom again"

"You're right I'll head over with Brass to his place, he probably needs his migraine medicine anyway." Sara commented before turning to leave

"Give me a call when you're ready to do the interview, I'm going to go check out more on the sedative used". Catherine called to the disappearing form of Sara

Grissom lay on the bonnet of the car looking up at the sky, he was deep in thought about all the things he'd done in his life, he started thinking about how his father or the lack of his father had shaped his life. Looking up at the stars he thought about the last time he'd seen his father as a boy , he'd been gone for about a year or so then one day he just turned up.

"_Hey son, your mother home?" his father asked as he barged past him towards the kitchen. Grissom was so excited and followed him first stopping at his room to pick up the ant farm he had made so he could show his father it had won first prize at a junior science fair. When he'd reached the kitchen he stood in the door way in awe at his parents who were arguing over something although he couldn't gather quite what, he wanted them to be happy so he walked up to his parents with a smile on his face holding out his ant farm towards his father._

"_Look, dad I made an ant farm and it won first prize" Grissom called to his father_

"_What?" his father asked stopping in the middle of his argument looking down at his son _

" _Why would I care? Is this what you've done to our son you've turned him into a nerd" this last comment directed towards Grissom's mother _

"_Don't talk to him like that, you should be proud of him, Gil why don't you put you're ant farm away while I talk with your father" his mother requested_

"_No, why don't you like it dad, my teacher said it was really good" Grissom asked almost crying_

"_Boys don't cry Gil" with that his father picked up his ant farm out of his hands took one look at it then tossed it onto the kitchen table where it skidded off and smashed on the floor_

_Grissom looked in disbelief at his father then ran over to the remains in hope to save some of his ants, meanwhile his parents resumed their argument._

"_I want you to leave" Grissoms mother asked in the most polite voice she could muster_

"_This is still my house, I can stay and go when I please, or do you have someone coming over and you want me out of the house, is that it? Cheating on me even in you condition, you were always a flirt" his father had turned away from his mother before his last comment meaning she couldn't read his lips, but Grissom had heard it and looked up from his pile of ant farm _

_Grissom's mother reached for his elbow to get him to turn back to her as she said "It's not a disability, when are you ever going to see that, I guess you never will, that's why you left" _

_He turned at this with his eyes full of rage "You, bitch" he yelled. From that point everything happened so fast. Somehow Grissom's mother ended up on the floor at which point Grissom ended up charging his father and grabbing his hand before he could hit her again, in the struggle that occurred Grissom had ended up biting his dad's hand, which had resulted in him getting hit across the face for his trouble where upon Grissom had fallen backwards with his head turned from the force, unfortunately his head had landed on the corner of the chair effectively knocking him out._

_His mother cried out in anguish and raced to her now bleeding unconscious son on the floor. "How dare you, I never want to see you again" she cried as she held Grissom's still form._

"_Fine by me, who would want you anyway" and with that he left_

Grissom had woken to his mother bending over him crying and tending to a cut on his left eyebrow which was still bleeding. Unfortunatly he'd been left with a small scar which he felt now as he thought back to how he got it. He'd been so hurt by his fathers rejection he never wanted to feel that sort of pain ever again so from that day he started to shut himself off from everyone, never letting anyone close. He wished in some way he could let people get close to him, he'd hurt so many people by turning them away. Like Sara he hadn't meant to turn her down that day when she asked him to dinner, hell he'd even hurt her today when he told her off at the crime scene. He decided he had to apologize as he realized the fact that though he had never hit anyone he had treated her just as bad as his father by ignoring her.

He slowly got out his cell phone and pressed speed dial. Oh crap what was he going to say 'Hey I'm out in the desert I just wanted to apologize' no no that wouldn't do but before he could think her cell phone answer phone kicked in " Uh hi, It's Grissom, I just thought I'd let you know I have a possible lead for you" geez he hadn't meant to sound like he was calling just to tell her information about the case " Um, I guess I really called to say that I'm sorry for the way I treated you at the crime scene today, in fact I'm sorry how I've treated you lately. Call me when you get a chance I think we need to talk". With that Grissom hung up and sighed. He pulled out a photo he kept in his wallet it was one of the whole team he looked down at it and did something that they would least expect he started to cry.


	8. Where is he?

**A/N Ok so short chapter, I'm hoping I can speed things along but my next chapter I'm finding a bit of a bore to write as I want to get straight into the juicy writing which will follow in the chapter after that but I have to go through story development first sigh with that said enjoy and I hope I have at least one person out there still reading.**

"I don't think he's in Sara" Brass commented as she knocked loudly for the third time.

"He should be here, you should of seen the state he was in this afternoon, he could barely walk" Sara turned in frustration "I'm trying his cell phone" she commented as she fished hers out of her jacket pocket.

"Damn, I forgot to turn it back on after my meeting with Carvallo, what if he's been trying to call" Sara's phone started to ring, she punched the button to answer it and placed it to her ear. "It's Grissom" she mentioned to Brass before listening to the message. Brass stood and watched as her face went from looking frustrated to utter shock.

"So what did he say?" Brass questioned as she shut her phone

"Um, he said we needed to talk, he sounded upset, I've never heard him sound so unsure of himself, I'm worried Jim, what if he does something stupid like looking into this case and gets himself into trouble, he said that he had some information, we should give him call" she answered with concern etched in her voice

"I'll do it, just give me a sec" Brass requested as he started to press speed dial button his phone.

"Hey, Grissom it's Brass, I have Sara with me here, if you could give me a call when you get this, talk to you soon" Brass sighed as he put his phone back in his pocket. "Just his voicemail, look if it makes you feel any better I'll get the boys to keep a look out for his car, we need to talk to him anyway so it has to be easier than phone tag, now lets get you back to the lab" Brass motioned towards his car

Catherine had seemed to get hardly any further with the evidence, when Ecklie had wanted to be brought up to speed. After a frustrating hour he finally was happy with her progress so far and started voicing his theories.

"So the sedative used is found in several medications, one of the main ones being migraine relief, doesn't Grissom get migraines?" Ecklie questioned as he scanned the tox report

"Yes but without his prescription we can't test the chemical signature" Catherine replied in a dissatisfied tone, Ecklie was fishing for evidence to get Grissom fired not to find the actual killer.

"CSI Sidle and Detective Brass have gone to bring him in for questioning correct, we can ask him then" he answered in almost a smirk as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm going to get a coffee, page me when they bring him in" he commented over his shoulder as he left the room, leaving Catherine to smolder at what a jerk he actually was.

The look on Sara's face spoke volumes when Cath saw her enter the layout room. "He wasn't in and he's not answering his phone, any progress on the evidence" Sara asked as she slumped down on the desk

"Apart from proving Ecklie's a jerk, not really, do you still have those migraine pills of Grissom's?" Catherine asked looking at Sara's exhausted form

"Yeah, here, why?" Sara placed the bag in Catherine's hand

"Ecklie wants to prove that Grissom drugged his father with these. I want to prove him wrong, are you coming?" Catherine turned and left Sara to follow quickly behind.

After what seemed like an eternity they finally had their answer and it wasn't good. "I can't believe this are you sure?" Catherine waved the piece of paper in the air

"I've run it twice, they match the sedative signature of tox screen" Greg answered "I'm sorry Cath I don't want it to be true either"

Catherine stormed out of the room just as her cell phone started to ring

"Cath, they've found Grissom's car out by the ravine, no Grissom, get Sara it's raining outside any evidence that you guys might find has probably been washed away but if we're lucky there might be something left, I'll meet you at the scene"

Catherine grabbed her jacket and Sara as they sped out the door.


	9. Oh no

**A/N Ok so for those of you who are nice enough to keep on reading this story I'm forever indebted because I can't stand people like me who start a story with quick chapters then take months to put the next one up. Let me know what you think (I need to know if I'm going terribly wrong with this storyline before I post the next chapter) and I'll put the next chapter up by the end of the week. Cheers**

By the time they arrived at the scene the rain was beating down so hard that they had their window wipers on full bore.

"Any evidence will be long gone on the outside of the car, what the hell was he doing out here anyway?" Catherine let out as she pulled along aside the police vehicles

Sara and Catherine stepped out to meet Brass as he placed an umbrella over their heads.

"Ranger found the car about an hour or so ago, called it into the police, said it was odd to see cars at this time of night figured it was probably some kids making out, got closer realized there was no one there, but come and have a look at this, something is wrong" Brass mentioned as he walked with them to the car

"Who leaves their, wallet, keys, jacket and glasses in the car?" Brass asked as they looked at the passenger seat where a neat pile of possessions were nicely placed.

"Somebody who's not coming back" Catherine replied in a devoid tone as she looked at the pile in front of her.

Sara looked at her in alarm "You're not suggesting what I think you are Catherine, he would never, he couldn't, oh god"

" Sara said he sounded not himself when he called her, I don't want to believe it either Catherine but I think we need to consider suicide, I mean he wouldn't just wander off and there is no sign of foul play" Brass contemplated out loud.

"But the question would be why, no something's not right here, I can't put my finger on it but, if I were Grissom I wouldn't leave everything here because if it was found by someone else other than law enforcement it could lead to false hope by the use of his credit cards e.t.c" Catherine stopped as she saw another Tahoe approaching the scene

"Oh no here comes Ecklie" Catherine exclaimed looking at Brass, who clearly showed his disgust on his face.

Stepping out of his Tahoe Ecklie paced to the scene "Why was I not informed that there was a new lead to this case?" he barked as he stared Catherine straight in the eye.

"You were getting Coffee, plus I did page you" Catherine lied "probably need to get some new batteries"

"Well, I'm here now so Catherine, you're with me processing the scene. CSI Sidle and Detective Brass, I believe your services could be better used going to Supervisor Grissom's house and seeing if there is any indication of what he was planning on doing." Believing he was finished dishing out orders Ecklie paced back to his Tahoe to grab his kit.

"Looks like were not wanted" Brass quipped as he guided Sara towards his Taurus "We'll keep you informed" Brass called over his shoulder as he opened the door for a very quiet Sara.

* * *

The drive to Grissom's was quiet as Sara stared out the window. "He didn't commit suicide Sara, he never would" Brass said into the silence as he stared ahead at the road.

"We're here" he said as he pulled into the driveway.

Sara searched for the spare key they had grabbed from the drawer in Grissom's office. She slowly opened the door calling out to Grissom as she entered making sure she stayed out of the way of the main areas incase this was a crime scene.

"He's not here" Brass said as he looked around the apartment from the door way

"I'm going to check the bedroom" Sara moved towards the left hand side of the house

His bed looked untidy, which for Grissom was odd, she saw a computer in the corner of the room the monitor was still on and something was flashing on the screen. Curious Sara walked over to the computer.

An alert showed he had a new message from his mother. She was tempted to read it as it could be a possible lead but also because she had never really heard him talk about his parents all she knew was she was still in California. The curiosity got the better of her and she clicked on the alert. A message appeared on the screen she started to read.

'Gil, it was good to talk to you today even if you were the bearer of bad news. Remember what I told you , none of this is your fault, oh I almost forgot that telephone number I gave you was incorrect me and my old age it should be 555- 6789634 the 2 was a 3 I just read it wrong, hope it hasn't caused too much trouble. Looking forward to your phone call tomorrow.

Love,

Mom'

Sara sighed although now she had a possible clue with the phone number she was no nearer figuring what had happened to Grissom. Her concentration was broken by a cough from the door she looked up and saw Brass.

"I hope you've not found anything incriminating on that computer" Brass joked

"No, but I did get a phone number, apparently he talked to his mother this afternoon, It's a place to start" Sara mentioned as she scribbled down the number.

"If you give me the number I'll get an address for it" Brass mentioned as he stepped towards Sara. Passing Brass the number Sara then looked back at the screen.

"I'll think I'll try and contact his mother, it looks like he uses the internet to talk to her."

"I'll be in the living room if you need me" Brass commented as he headed out the room pushing the buttons on his phone

Sara studied the desktop and found an icon showing internet access double clicking on it she had a window appear that looked like a messenger surface, 'Connecting to mother' showed in the dialog box. Sara sat there wondering if she would in fact any response as she had no idea what time it was in California. Her question was soon answered as a message popped up on her screen

'Gil, what's wrong?'

Sara started to type ' Sorry to wake you Mrs Grissom, it's Sara Sidle I work with your son at the crime lab, I was wondering if I could have a word with you?' she felt so odd typing over the computer.

'Oh, Sara can I call you that? I was wondering if I ever would get to talk to you Gil speaks very highly of you, but you contacting me on Gil's computer must mean something's happened, hang on a second let me turn on the camera so I can get a look at you' At that point Grissom's mother appeared on the screen as the camera connections became enabled. Sara soon realized where Grissom's blue eyes came from as they were staring straight at her. Sara decided to try and tell his mother what was happening and possibly find out where he had gone.

'I don't mean to alarm you Mrs Grissom, but Gil (she felt odd calling him that) has disappeared after talking to you this afternoon. We found his car but he wasn't there and we've tried calling him. I was wondering if he had contacted you or said anything about where he was going?' Sara asked

'No he didn't say anything about where he was going, he was worried about being a suspect in his fathers murder, but both you and I know he wouldn't do anything rash, he has a lot of faith in your team and you especially Sara he knew you would clear him so I can't see any reason for him to run'. Mrs Grissom had a worried look on her face.

Sara was slightly taken a back by the last comment, she didn't know he talked about the team or her especially to his mother.

'I'm sorry to ask this of you Mrs Grissom but what was the relationship between Gil and his father, I wouldn't ask but I'm just trying to figure out what his disappearance had to do with his fathers death' Sara felt so bad typing this to his mother.

'It's no problem, I wish however Gil was telling you this rather than me. My ex-husband and I started having problems when I started going deaf' Grissom's mother stopped as she saw the surprised look on Sara's face. 'I'm taking it Gil didn't tell you about me, we'll have to change that after all this, anyway he started taking it out on Gil not physically but mentally, he pushed him so hard in everything told him he was never smart enough, never tough enough to be his son, which made Gil try even harder, the poor boy I remember one time Gil was so nervous before giving his father his report card that he spent the whole afternoon cleaning his dad's favorite chair, found the perfect magazine down at the local store and brought it with his pocket money so he could give it to him afterwards. Anyway his father gets home takes one look at his report card and tells him that he's failing in gym and that any son of his has to be an all rounder, I could of killed him. In someway's his father leaving was a blessing it took the pressure off, but unfortunately I think the damage may have already been done, you may have noticed that my son is very private, he shut himself after his father left, I sometimes think I failed my son I should of tried to get him to open up more' Mrs Grissom sighed after this comment

'You can't blame yourself for his personal issues, in some ways he wouldn't be where he is today if he didn't go through those experiences, we are all a product of our parents no matter how hard we try not to be. I just have one more question to ask, what did Gil's father do for a living?'

'Lately he told me he'd been doing contract work, just carpentry I think' Mrs Grissom answered.

Sara heard movement from the doorway , looking up she saw Brass indicating they should go.

'I'm sorry Mrs Grissom I'm going to have to go, thank you so much for your help'

'My pleasure Sara I wish it could have been under better circumstances, can you please keep me informed about what's happening?' Mrs Grissom asked

'Sure, I will, hopefully next time I talk to you Gil will be with me'. Sara signed off and got up from the desk.

"She's a really nice woman, have you got an address?" Sara asked as they headed towards the front door.

"Yep a Bryan Murphy 62 Willowtree Lane, it's about a 20 minute drive from here, lets go pay him a visit"

* * *

After searching the car for only five minutes Ecklie found something under the front drivers seat.

"Catherine can you shine your light under here please" Ecklie asked almost nicely

Shining her light under the seat she saw a glint of metal, praying it was not what she thought it was she closed her eyes, as she opened them again she saw something that she wished she hadn't, there in Ecklies gloved hand was a knife covered in blood.


	10. Is he guilty?

**A/N: So most of you would have had to of read the whole story again as it has been soooooo long since I last posted. All I can say is that I was out of the country for four months and didn't have my computer so as a result no postings. But to make up for it I'm going to post nearly all of the rest of the story I only have about one more chapter to write so hopefully that will get it over and done with. I also have another story I am about to post. I'm a huge fan of Grissomgal71's stories and you may notice that my stories are very Grissom focused, for the moment this is the way it will remain. Any comments, reviews (good or bad) would be greatly received.**

Sara had time to think on the way over to the address, this however had not been a good thing. Her thoughts started to dwell on the fact that Grissom may not be alive she thought the last time she had seen him and then there was his voice mail how desperate he sounded. She was jarred from her thoughts by Brass.

"Let's get this over with, I hope that this leads somewhere" Brass commented as he got out of the drivers seat.

Knocking on the door with a determined look on his face, Sara realized that finding Grissom meant as much to Brass as it did to her. Even though they didn't always seem eye to eye Grissom was probably Brass's best friend.

The door slowly opened to reveal a dirty looking 30 year old, he sized up Sara and Brass as they stood on his door step.

"What do you want?" The grungy man barked

"Bryan Murphy?" Brass asked

"Nope" The man went to shut the door, but with brass's many years in the squad he'd already placed his foot in the door.

"Is he home?" Sara piped in as she eyed up the interior of the house.

"Nope" the man answered with a small sneer

"Mr talkative aren't we, do you know when he'll be back?" Brass asked just then a crash came from behind in the living room.

"Who else is with you at the moment?" Brass pressed as he became suspicious.

"No, one just a dog" as he said this the back door of the house slammed. Both reacting to the noise Brass headed around the back just in time to see a foot disappear into the garage. Pursuing the foot he managed to catch a scruffy looking 25 year old getting into a beaten up truck.

"Bryan Murphy I presume?" Brass quipped as he forced the man up against the truck "Would you like to tell me why you were running?"

At this point Sara had caught up with Brass and was looking in the back of the flatbed truck, when something caught her eye. Tucked in the corner by the tailgate was a piece of paper. Pulling out a spare pair of gloves she slowly went to get it, she let out a small gasp when she realized what it was, gingerly picking it up she showed it to Brass, both of them stared at the evidence neither really believing what they saw, there in Sara's hand was a picture of the CSI nightshift.


	11. What to do now?

**A/N: So this chapter is a little shorter than I would have liked but I didn't really know how to write this scene any suggestions?**

"Sara, it's Catherine I think you should head back to CSI we found something in Grissom's car and it's not good" Catherine instructed down the phone.

"I'm over at P.D with Brass I think you come over here we have a suspect who's someway related to this case". Sara replied as she eyed up the suspect through the observation glass.

She had decided to just watch as Brass interrogated Bryan as she didn't think she could keep her emotions in check. Brass had just sat down and was about to start with the interrogation.

"So Bryan, do you recognize this man" Brass asked as he slid a picture of Grissom over towards his arm.

"No" he answered turning his head down towards the table.

"Then why did you have a picture of him in your truck?" Brass inquired "I mean how did it just happen to be there?"

"Maybe you planted it" Bryan speculated still not looking into brass's eyes.

"And why would we do that, you just said you didn't know the man" Brass was interrupted as there was a knock on the door, a deputy stuck his head in requesting for brass to talk to him outside.

When he returned he had a completely different look on his face the caring understanding Brass was gone, left in its place was a pure look of loathing.

"Don't worry Bryan your brother, who answered the door he told us everything, how you planned it, why you did it, you hated the fact that Mr Grissom had put away your father in prison, how you wanted to get revenge".

A look of pure surprise entered the boy's features.

"I didn't mean to kill him" he cried,

At this revelation Sara sat down heavily in the chair, it was true he was dead, it was as if her whole world stopped, time just stood still.

Inside the interview room Bryan continued.

"He wasn't supposed to catch me putting the knife into his car, I thought he'd gone for a walk" Bryan wailed as if he was half his age.

Tell me how it went down Bryan and where you've put his body, the law will go easier if you co-operate.

"He surprised me, he grabbed my shoulder I got scarred I stabbed him with my needle, you see I'm diabetic, he just collapsed, I killed him, I wasn't supposed to, he was just supposed to get framed and loose his job, do the time that my father did" Bryan commented as he started to regain his composure.

"He wasn't at the crime scene, where did you place the body" Brass asked his voice full of sorrow as he realized that he was asking about his friend.

"I don't know the name I just put him in a cave I can show you" Bryan finally looked up at Brass

"We'll get it arranged" with this Brass got up from the table, his face looked like it had just aged 10 years as he walked to the door.

On the other side of the glass Sara sat silently tears streaming down her face, this was the state Catherine found her 10 minutes later as she arrived at the station, it was at this point Catherine something had gone seriously wrong.


	12. Is there hope?

**A/N: I figured that the Doc would be in on the action. The question is Grissom dead?**

The ride had been somber as they arrived at the cave. The coroner's van had followed behind them and now pulled up beside the stilled vehicle. Brass was the first one to exit the car followed by Sara, she had to see for her self that it he was really dead. Catherine decided to stay in the car just staring in numbness towards the cave that had become her friend's final resting place.

" Doc Robbin's what are you doing here?" Brass asked in surprise as the Coroner stepped out of the passenger seat of the van.

"Gil deserves the best, I didn't want to believe it so I have to see it with my own eyes" The doctor replied as he limped his way towards the mouth of the cave with Brass and Sara in tow. As they reached the cave they all took the breath they had been holding.

As they stepped inside it took a second for their eye's to adjust to the light. Over in the corner against the wall curled in a ball was Grissom's body. Sara turned at the sight and walked out of the cave, leaving Brass and Dr Robbins to walk towards the body, his body.

Dr Robbins walked to the wall and crouched down placing his fingers to Grissom's neck. Seeing the puncture mark of the needle in the side of his neck confirmed Bryan's story. He suddenly felt something he least expected a pulse, a faint one but there was one there.

Quickly turning to brass he announced "He's not dead, get me my kit from the van and ring the paramedics." Rushing into action Brass ran out of the cave radioing an ambulance as he went.

"Hold on Gil, help is on its way" Doc Robbins assured the still scientist as he rolled Grissom onto his back.

Both Catherine and Sara looked up as Brass hurriedly ran to the coroners van retrieving a brown kit bag and ran back towards the cave.

"What's going on?" Sara asked through her tears.

"I don't know but I intend to find out" Catherine replied as she stirred into action.

Catherine proceeded to the nearest police vehicle where Bryan was being kept. Knocking on the window she got the deputy's attention.

"What's going on" she asked as he opened his door.

"I don't know but Detective Brass just radioed for an ambulance" replied the deputy as he got out of his vehicle into the desert heat. At this news Catherine turned towards the mouth of the cave and started pacing towards it, as the only explanation for an ambulance meant that Grissom was alive. As she reached the opening she saw Doc Robbins bent over a very pale and still Grissom trying to administer some drugs and fluids.

"He's very dehydrated that alone could kill him but he's also got an overdose of insulin in his system, how long did they say the ambulance was going to be?" Doctor Robbins asked as he tended to Grissom.

"They're sending a chopper should be here any minute" Brass replied with a worried tone, now that they had found him alive he couldn't bare the thought of losing his friend again.

The next few minutes happened as a blur, the chopper arrived and a hive of activity surrounded Grissom as he was loaded onto a stretcher and then into the helicopter.

"Where are they taking him?" Sara asked as Brass and Catherine rejoined her at the car.

"Desert Palm's, lets get moving, I'll drop you off there I've got to get back to the station and deal with our friend over there" Brass nodded his head in the direction of the patrol car holding Bryan.


	13. Anymore questions?

**A/N: I'm going to try and make this the second to last chapter we'll see how it goes, happy reading.**

When they arrived Nick was pacing up and down the hallway, while Warrick and Greg sat with anxious looks on their faces.

"Any news" Catherine asked as she approached the group.

"They won't tell us anything" Warrick answered as Nick stopped his pacing

"I'm going to try and find out something" Catherine replied as she wandered towards the nurse's desk.

Warrick looked over at Sara who had been silent through the whole conversation. Her eyes held a haunted look as if she had entered a dark place and having trouble to get back from there. Getting up he placed a hand on her arm.

"Hey Sara, you ok?" He asked softly

She looked up at him as if through a fog.

"Warrick, he was so…"She started to choke up

Catherine interrupted as she came back with news.

"So they'll let us see him one at a time, he's in ICU so it has to be short, they say he's stable but they're not sure when he'll come out of the coma" Catherine sighed

"Who wants to go first" Nick asked, everybody turned and looked at Sara.

"I can't, I just can't" Sara commented as she turned and walked down the hall towards the lift. Catherine went to go after her, but Nick stopped her. "I'll go" he replied as he started to go after her.

When Catherine arrived at his room she stopped unsure what she would find inside. Taking a deep breathe she ventured across the doorway into the bright room beyond. She walked to his bedside looking at all the machines he was hooked up to scared her. She pulled up a chair and took his hand in hers, noticing how cold and lifeless it seemed.

"Hey Gil, I know you can hear me, you need to wake up for us, we know you didn't do it, we need you." Catherine started to cry it was then first time since this whole thing began that she had shed a tear and now they came she couldn't stop.

"Catherine, you ok?" Warrick asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, I just hate to see him like this, he's just looks so helpless, I doubted him Warrick, there was something in the back of my mind that thought he might have done it, for whatever his reason's were, I feel like such a fool." Catherine replied through the tears.

Warrick stepped to her side "Come on I'll take you home, you need sometime with Lindsay and sometime to sleep, you've been going full steam for the last two days, you've got to be tired." As Warrick guided her out of the chair towards the door, as he looked back at Grissom he frowned, he just didn't like seeing his friend and mentor in this state.

Nick had finally convinced Sara that she needed to see Grissom. That had been half an hour ago. He'd left her alone and as he went to check on her what he saw almost broke his heart. She sat there holding his free hand in hers, she'd fallen asleep beside it, he picked up a blanket near by and placed it over her shoulders and left her by his side.

Sara woke to something warm on the side of her face. It took her a few moments to realize what it was. She slowly lifted her head, seeing two blue eyes staring back at her.

"Grissom, you're awake, let me get the doctor" Sara motioned to get up, but Grissom grabbed her hand in his. "Ok I'll stay but let me at least get the doctor" She motioned towards the buzzer by his bed. He loosened his grip so she could reach the buzzer. Pressing the buzzer she took a good look at him he looked so weak. She was about to say something when a doctor came through the door.

"Ah Mr Grissom I see your awake, how are you feeling?" the cheerful attending asked as he picked up Grissom's chart.

"Dri… was all Grissom managed to get out before starting to cough violently.

"I'm not surprised your thirsty, all that time out in the desert, at them moment just crushed ice, the IV will get you fluids back on track. I believe you're going to feel rather sluggish for awhile until your insulin levels get back to normal. I don't see why we can't release you tomorrow but I would like to advise that someone stay with you just for a few days just incase" as the doctor said this he looked towards Sara.

"Don't worry he'll be cared for" with this Sara gave him a don't mess with me look, she saw Grissom's eye's starting to droop with a small smile on his lips. Taking this as a chance to leave and grab a shower she gave Grissom's hand a small squeeze and left his side, knowing that he would be alright.


	14. Is this the end?

**A/N Is this the last chapter I really don't know I just don't know what else to say help me everyone any suggestions should it stop here or should I continue and how. Thanks for any feedback you might provide**

The drive back from the hospital with Grissom had been a long one. He seemed most of the time to be staring out the window engrossed in his own world.

"Grissom were here" Sara prompted as they pulled up outside of his townhouse. He let himself out of the tahoe and walked slowly up to his front door. Sara turned off the SUV and followed behind him if he was going to be like this the whole time it was going to be a very long few days. Sara had taken off a few days that had been owed to her , considering she could have been a liability on the remainder of the case Ecklie welcomed it.

"Grissom" she called as she stepped into the house.

She looked into the living room and saw him seated on the couch looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Grissom are you alright, you haven't said two words to me since we left the hospital?" Sara asked. Silence was his only answer.

"You're going to have to talk about it sometime Grissom, if not to me then someone" Sara mentioned in a hurt tone as she proceeded to his kitchen to put some bottles of water she had carried into the house in the fridge.

"Sara" Grissom started

She almost jumped when he started to talk, turning towards the sound she proceeded back into the living room waiting for him to continue.

"I was so afraid that I was turning into my father, I realized it after he died. I've never taken the time to try and get what he never had. I turned into him, always working never taking the time to actually have a life, that way I could never loose anything, never hurt anything like he hurt me. But in all my attempts I've come out worse than my father ever was, I lost everything by pushing people away, I hurt them the most by not paying them attention to them" at this Grissom looked up at Sara.

She realized at that point he was trying to explain why he had been pushing her away all these years yet wanted her close, he continued.

"I guess no matter how hard we try we are a product of our parent's, unfortunate how it is". Grissom stopped and looked at his hands

Sara approached him and took his hands in hers as she crouched down in front of him. "You don't truly believe that Grissom, besides if that's true then you also have your mother in you, which I might add she is a wonderful woman, the fact that you've realized it now means you're not like your dad, you're your own person and always will be"

Grissom looked into her eye's trying to see if she was just saying it to comfort him but all he saw was the truth in her eyes. She shifted up to the seat beside him, surprising him completely she hugged him, at first he was stiff with fear the last time someone had hugged him had been his mother, but he let himself go relaxing into her embrace, they stayed like that what seemed forever, only being interrupted by a knock at the door.

Slowly getting up Sara went to answer the door. She opened it to reveal a very tired looking Brass.

"Hey Sara, is Grissom in?" Brass asked not seeming surprised that Sara answered the door.

"Sure come in" Sara motioned to the interior of the house.

"Hey, Gil how you doing ?" Brass asked taking in his friends still fragile state "Sorry I didn't visit you at the hospital but I've been trying to sort out all the work you gave me" Brass joked.

"Have a seat Jim" Grissom motioned to a chair across from him

"I just came by to get your account of what happened at to see how you were doing, unfortunately I can't stay long" Brass apologized as he sat down in the chair.

Grissom wiped a hand across his face as Sara came and sat down next to him on the sofa.

"I can't really tell you much Jim, I was out at the ravine looking at the stars and felt nature calling so I went to find the nearest tree, I guess I got distracted when I got there as I saw a excellent example of the horned desert beetle, I went back to my car in a hurry to get a jar when I found someone rummaging around in my back seat, he looked like a kid I thought maybe he was homeless or something so I didn't want to scare him away so I just put my hand on his shoulder, unfortunately he stabbed me with something I don't remember anything after that until I turned up in hospital" Grissom's eyes started to droop as exhaustion set in.

"Seem's to fit with the kids story, I'm going to need to get you to give a formal statement later" Brass closed his notebook then looked over at his friend , much to his surprise Grissom had fallen asleep.

"Sara can I talk to you a sec" Brass asked as he got up from the chair

Sara followed Brass to the foyer. "I didn't expect him to fall asleep like that, is he ok?"

"Yeah it's just really taken a lot out of him the last few days, the doctor's say he may be quite tired for a few days until his bodies back to normal, so what exactly happened did the kid say why he did it?" Sara enquired.

"Apparently Grissom put away his father around 15 years ago, his brother was the brains of the outfit went out to California to find Grissom's father figured killing him was a good option to get back at Grissom, once he found out they didn't have a good relationship he schemed a pretty good plan got Grissom's dad in on it too apparently Grissom's father was under the impression they were hitting him up for money, then he was going to fake a kidnapping to get the money, what he didn't count on was that the brothers would kill him and then try and frame Grissom for the murder, they didn't want money they wanted revenge." Brass looked back in at Grissom on the couch with pure concern "Are you sure he's going to be ok?"

"I don't know, but I hope so, if I need any help I'll give you a call" Sara replied as she opened the door for Brass.

"See you Sara, take care of him" Brass waved as he got into his Taurus.

As Sara closed the door she hoped everything was going to get better.


End file.
